Winschoten
Encyclopedia
Winschoten is a former municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 and city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 in the northeast of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

.

Population (1 Jan 2003): 18.497; area: 22,24 km2.

The origin of the name of Winschoten is not known but it has received nicknames. One of these is Molenstad (or Milltown). It has also been known, in living memory, as Sodom
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....

. This name arose out of the Jewish community who were scandalised by the immoral behaviour of their Gentile neighbours. The inhabitants are also called Tellerlikkers (plate lickers).

Winschoten was the capital of the 'Oldambt' district, in a fertile agricultural region. Winschoten received city rights
City rights in the Netherlands
City rights are a medieval phenomenon in the history of the Low Countries. A liegelord, usually a count, duke or similar member of high nobility, granted a settlement he owned certain town privileges that settlements without city rights did not have....

 in 1825. It was the last town in the Netherlands to be granted such rights. The town flag has three horizontal stripes of blue and white, in ratio 1:3:1, on the white stripe is a red outline plan of a fortress with nine embattlements. It was adopted 23 May 1973 by municipal resolution.

Winschoten has a railway station on the line from Groningen to Leer
Leer
Leer is a town in the district of Leer, the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the river Ems, near the border with the Netherlands....

 (in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) and a road connection to the rest of the Netherlands via the A7 motorway
A7 motorway (Netherlands)
The A7 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands connecting Zaandam, via the Afsluitdijk, Sneek and Groningen to the German border near Bad Nieuweschans. The entire road is part of the European route E22, with exception of the first kilometre, between the terminus in Zaandam and the interchange...

. The railway station was inaugurated 1 May 1868 to service the Groningen - Winschoten - Nieuweschans line. This was the second brought into use by the Company for the Exploitation of State Railways (Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (MESS)) and part of the route from Harlingen
Harlingen
Harlingen may mean:* Harlingen, Netherlands, a municipality and city in the province of Friesland* Harlingen, Texas, a city in the United States* Harlingen, New Jersey, an unincorporated village in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, United States...

, Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...

, to Nieuweschans (built 1863-1868). Today this route is operated by Arriva.

Windmills

There used to be 13 mills in Winschoten, today only three large, monumental windmills remain in the town. These mills are now owned by the local council and are run by volunteer millers. They form an important feature of the townscape and are well cared for by the local authorities for the benefit of the community and visitors.

Molen Berg, built in 1854 at the Grintweg, was designed to grind corn. Its first owner was J.D. Buurma. The unusual design of the sails with movable blades, akin to venetian blinds was in advance for its time. Traditionally Dutch windmills have tarpaulin covering the sails to control or catch the wind's power.

The Dijkstra Molen in the Nassaustraat was built in 1862 by D.E. Dijkstra. In 1953 the original owner's grandson sold it to the local government. It was restored 1982/1983 and further restoration work took place in 1995/6 restoration.

Molen Edens, at Nassaustraat 14, was built in 1763 on the instructions of Jurrien Balles and Antje Gerbrands. Later owners were Jan Joesten and G. Eikema. Then from 1855 till 1960 various generations of the Edens family owned it. The local municipality bought it in 1960. It is the oldest mill in the entire province of Groningen.

Churches

There are numerous Protestant churches in Winschoten including an assembly of Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...

. The oldest church dates back to the 13th century in style mingling Roman and Gothic features. There is a Dutch Reformed church on Marktplein. A free-standing 16th-century bell tower is one of the features of the Winschoten skyline.

There is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Vitus, built by Alfred Tepe in 1880. It is a neo-gothic church with stained glass windows by Kocken and a sandstone highaltar from Freitag in Münster. This altar was formerly placed in the Saint Boniface church in Nieuwe Pekela
Nieuwe Pekela
Nieuwe Pekela is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Pekela, about 6 km southeast of Veendam....

. When this church was demolished it was brought to Winschoten to replace an old altar.

There used to be a thriving Jewish community. In 1940 Winschoten had the second largest Jewish community in The Netherlands after Amsterdam. During the Second World War, Winschoten was a transit port to Germany for the Jew-transports. Of the 493 Jews that lived in Winschoten at the beginning of the war, only 20 survived.

Monuments

The name tellerlikker (mentioned above) was given on account of the local custom to voraciously devour their meals and conclude with licking the plate (teller - in the local dialect) clean. A monument to one of these plate lickers stands outside the concert hall 'De Klinker' built on the site of a former brick factory. A dog in turn licks the feet of his greedy owner.

Language

The official language is Dutch although many Winschoters usually speak the local dialect called Gronings, in addition many inhabitants are able to speak German or a little English. The Winschoter version of the dialect Gronings has influences of Hebrew and Yiddish as a consequence of the once prominent Jewish community that had lived there since the 18th century.

People from Winschoten

  • Bas Jan Ader
    Bas Jan Ader
    Bas Jan Ader was a Dutch conceptual artist, performance artist, photographer and filmmaker. He lived in Los Angeles for the last 10 years of his life. Ader's work was in many instances presented as photographs and film of his performances...

     (1942-lost at sea 1975), Dutch artist
  • Piet Hamberg
    Piet Hamberg
    Piet Hamberg is a Dutch former footballer and manager. He worked at Liverpool as Technical Manager for their Academy....

     (1954), Dutch footballer and football manager
  • Wiebbe Hayes
    Wiebbe Hayes
    Wiebbe Hayes was a colonial soldier from Winschoten, Netherlands. Hayes became a national hero after he led a group of soldiers, sailors and other survivors of the shipwreck of the Batavia against the murderous mutineers led by Jeronimus Cornelisz at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands , off the Western...

     (c. 1608), a Dutch soldier and national hero in the 17th century.
  • Marnix Kolder
    Marnix Kolder
    Marnix Kolder is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Go Ahead Eagles, as a striker.-Career:Born in Winschoten, Kolder has played for Veendam, Groningen, VVV-Venlo and Go Ahead Eagles.-References:...

     (1981), Dutch footballer
  • Marcel Seip
    Marcel Seip
    Marcel Seip is a Dutch footballer who plays for Football League Two club Bradford City as a defender, having previously played for Veendam, Heerenveen, Plymouth Argyle, Blackpool, Sheffield United and Charlton Athletic.-Veendam:...

     (1982), Dutch footballer
  • Dirk Stikker
    Dirk Stikker
    Dirk Uipko Stikker, GBE, GCVO was a Dutch banker, industrialist, politician, and diplomat.Born in Winschoten, he studied law at the University of Groningen. After his studies he began a career in the banking sector. In 1935, he became director of Heineken International, the famous beer company...

     (1897–1979), Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs (1948–1952), NATO Secretary-General (1961–1964)
  • Bernard D. H. Tellegen
    Bernard D. H. Tellegen
    Bernard D.H. Tellegen was a Dutch electrical engineer and inventor of the penthode and the gyrator...

     (1900–1990), Dutch engineer and inventor
  • Henriëtte Weersing
    Henriëtte Weersing
    Henriëtte Weersing is a retired volleyball player from the Netherlands, who represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992....

     (1965), Dutch volleyball player
  • Bert Zuurman
    Bert Zuurman
    Bert Zuurman is a retired football striker from the Netherlands, who made his professional debut in the 1990-1991 season for FC Groningen...

     (1973), Dutch footballer
  • Marcel Hensema (1970), Actor

External links

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